Need advice on double-glazing firms (Everest, Anglian, etc)

MRB

Hi guys,

So we're currently looking at getting new windows and doors on the house as the current ones are past their best.

I've done my research and am disheartened to find that all the big firms seem to have taken a bit of a slating. Everest, Anglian and Scotia to name but a few.

I've had the first two round for quotes but as I'm a fairly cut and dry guy I didn't let them muck around. They were told they had twenty minutes to get measurements and get quotes and I'd let them know in a few days.

Everest come back with a 9k quote for front and back doors and a total of three windows and a set of patio doors.
Anglian come back with 4k and Scotia come out tomorrow.

It was good fun, the guys were more or less running around the house to get everything taken down in time! Highly recommend doing the same, I don't give a stuff about seeing samples, I just want figures.

However, as I mentioned, all these firms have took a bit of a beating in various review websites.

Does anyone have any genuine feedback on any known, reliable, UK wide or Scottish firm for this sort of work who are reliable and more importantly, accountable for their work?

Any feedback greatly appreciated!

MRB

docmatt

The reason why Anglian and Everest have bad reviews is because they have so many customers, pure and simple. They are both £200million + firms and if you Googled all the bad reviews they would still only be less than 1% of all the installations.

The trouble with this forum is everyone will say get a local firm and then peeps start reeling off that they got their windows cheaper than the last person who posted. It's all very well saving all this money but then low and behold 7 years down the line Mr moneysaver starts a thread saying his windows are broken and "Ned and Den the Window Men" have since gone bust and now he's been left in the !!!!!!.

The quality of Anglian and Everest is very good. The most important thing is if there is anything unfinished or missing, don't pay the money until its 100% finished.

Good luck :cool:

jc808

docmatt wrote: »

The reason why Anglian and Everest have bad reviews is because they have so many customers, pure and simple. They are both £200million + firms and if you Googled all the bad reviews they would still only be less than 1% of all the installations.

The trouble with this forum is everyone will say get a local firm and then peeps start reeling off that they got their windows cheaper than the last person who posted. It's all very well saving all this money but then low and behold 7 years down the line Mr moneysaver starts a thread saying his windows are broken and "Ned and Den the Window Men" have since gone bust and now he's been left in the !!!!!!.

The quality of Anglian and Everest is very good. The most important thing is if there is anything unfinished or missing, don't pay the money until its 100% finished.

Good luck :cool:

If the windows have broken why does it have to be the original installer that fgixes it? 'Ned and Den' or otherwise? Ridiculous scaremongering.

poppy_f1

my mum recently got all her windows in her house replaced (7 in total with 2 big windows about 9ft long) replaced by CR Smith, think she paid 7k in total, that was the brown upvc and some of them were the ones you can turn inside out for ease for cleaning
have to say the sales guy was thorough when he was giving the quote and the guys doing the work were quick they were all replaced over 2 days then a guy came a few days later to stain the new woodwork
cant fault them in anyway
except after the dude doing the paint work left my mum was complaining of a draught in the house.....he had left all the trickle vents open lol i think must be the smell of the varnish/stain he used
have to say if i was getting windows replaced i would use them

MRB

I suppose that's all very true. It's just one of those things, you might be in that 1% of screw ups.

I will say one thing I've learned from this though; when they send the sales people round to your home, make them come through your front door on your terms, not theirs. They can have a quote done in 20 minutes with measurements and the fittings picked out. Tell him not to bother bringing samples, what do you really care how a window is made unless you are qualified to understand what's going on?

Next time I get something like this I'm going to get them all out at the same time and make them bid for my business like I'd do in my own line of work. I think that'd be hilarious.

Cheers guys, if I find anything else worth knowing I'll stick up so others can see what to expect.

docmatt

jc808 wrote: »

If the windows have broken why does it have to be the original installer that fgixes it? 'Ned and Den' or otherwise? Ridiculous scaremongering.

Lets say 7 sealed units mist up and a door lock breaks. Ned and Den have gone bust. Who is going to pay for the repairs under the guarantee? Mr Moneysaver certainly doesn't want to.

deanos

docmatt wrote: »

Lets say 7 sealed units mist up and a door lock breaks. Ned and Den have gone bust. Who is going to pay for the repairs under the guarantee? Mr Moneysaver certainly doesn't want to.

If the warranty is insurance backed then you are still covered, claim on the insurance ?

docmatt

deanos wrote: »

If the warranty is insurance backed then you are still covered, claim on the insurance ?

Yes if an IBG is given then you can claim

deanos

docmatt wrote: »

Yes if an IBG is given then you can claim

There you go then, you can go to Ned and Den as long as there guarantee is insurance backed

phill99

But you are missing the point. How can Everest and Anglian, both national companies with a similar cost base give quotes where one is over 100% higher than the other? There may be slight product variations, but not so much that there is a difference of over 100% in costs. I can only conclude that a company that is so much higher than the other is making extraordinarily high profits and certainly giving twice as much value as the other company.

And what is wrong with seeking prices from reputable local companies? Their cost base is much lower than the nationals so they can offer the same quality windows at a lower cost. It would be worth asking around to see if friends and family have had windows done and by whom.

If you want to go with a national company, then go back to Anglian and say the price is too high -they will; soon come down.

boo1

Anglian replaced the windows in my old house and I wouldn't use them again. They started to fit the obscure glass (for the bathroom) in the kitchen until my husband pointed it out. And instead of cementing properly around the brick work we later found out that they had stuffed the hole with newspaper and then put cement on top!!! I was not impressed............